Queens pol's rent subsidy plan to curb homelessness wins support of city's largest landlord group

Queens Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi came up with a plan called the Home Stability Support program, which intends to reduce reliance on city homeless shelters by implementing a statewide rent subsidy. (DelMundo, Anthony freelance NYDN)

ALBANY - A Queens Assemblyman's plan to crack down on the city homeless crisis has managed to unite affordable housing advocates and landlords.

The Rent Stabilization Association, the city's largest landlord organization, Friday threw its support behind the plan by Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) called the Home Stability Support program that is intended to reduce reliance on homeless shelters by creating a new statewide rent subsidy to keep people in their homes.

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"This program would keep families and individuals who are on the brink of homelessness in their homes, and it would reduce the city's record homeless shelter population by getting people back into home environments," said RSA President Joseph Strasburg.

Hevesi's plan, which is being sponsored in the Senate by Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) and was first reported in September by the Daily News, has previously been backed by anti-homeless advocates, 111 state Assembly members from both parties, and a range of other public officials.

The Home Stability Support program is intended to reduce reliance on homeless shelters by creating a new statewide rent subsidy to keep people in their homes. (Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News)

"The Hevesi-Klein bill is a long-term, economically sound solution to the city's homeless crisis — certainly far more practical than Mayor Bill de Blasio's costly temporary fix of pumping millions of taxpayer dollars into dozens more homeless shelters," Strasburg said.

Hevesi has said his plan would cost the state and feds $450 million, but it would ultimately save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars by relying less on costly shelters. It would also be a big savings for the city, he has said.

Under the plan, a mishmash of state and local rent subsidies that he says are no longer effective would be replaced with a single state program for families and individuals facing eviction, homelessness or loss of housing due to domestic violence or other dangerous conditions.

Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, said the bill is "certainly far more practical than Mayor de Blasio's" temporary fixes. (Siegel. Jefferson)

Part of the current problem of keeping people in their homes is that a shelter allowance created by the state in 1975 covered the full rents of the vast majority of those on public assistance, but it hasn't kept up with the increase in rents over the years, Hevesi has said.

Simply raising the shelter allowance wouldn't work because it would reduce federal food stamp funding that would offset any rental help and force more people onto public assistance, he said.